Act Your Age, Fullmetal!
by Zaria Lianna
Summary: Everyone around him tells him to act his age. But what age is that exactly?
1. Act Your Age, Fullmetal

**Here is my first, and probably only, FMA oneshot fanfic! I noticed that throughout the series, Ed is increasingly more mature, but he never seems to lose what it means to be a kid. Yet at the same time, the pressures keep adding up on him.i imagined him trying to deal with all that pressure and this was born.**

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"Dammit, Winry, I'm not gonna drink the stupid milk!" Shouted a boy of diminutive size with eyes of golden fire.

"How do you expecting grow taller if you don't, Ed? Are you going to stay midget size forever?" Another blonde roared in reply. "You're not a little kid anymore, Ed. You need to _act your age!"_

So consumed was she in her irritation that she failed to see the small flinch her opponent attempted to hide at her words.

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"If you don't want to fight that's one thing. But don't run away and expect others to make the tough decisions for you!" Ed exclaimed. "How do you expect to make your own way in the world if you try to take the easy way out at every turn?"

Off to the side, a group of soldiers stood, watching their small comrade ream out someone they had been expected to fight against. A criminal who they had been tracking for weeks, who acted as if they were ruler of the streets, and then tried to bail when the military came for their operation, leaving their accomplices to act as bait.

Among the soldiers was Colonel Hughes, a slightly scruffy looking family-obsessed man who viewed the Elric brothers as his own. He smiled sadly at the Fullness Alchemist. "I have to admit, Edward can be very intimidating." He said, turning to fellow soldier Havoc. "He's very good at playing the role of the demon from hell, but I wish he knew it was okay to _act his age._ "

Hidden beneath his trembling rage that was aimed at his captive audience, Edward flinched again at the words.

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"You can't run forever, you little brats!" Shouted the red and black clad demon, chasing the kids in front of him. Running as if their lives depended on it, a group of small children shrieked with laughter, jumping up onto the jungle gym they and the teenager following them played on. The elder Elric, entertaining the children, pretended to hunt them down, delighting in the joy he helped bring them.

Off to the side, a small gathering of elitist State Alchemists muttered to themselves. "Bad enough someone like _him,_ so unschooled and unworthy, got the same title as us. Now he chooses to drag it through the mud even further by playing with _children._ He needs to _act his age_."

Edward heard them, and slowly, gradually, brought his accompaniment of the children to a halt. Pretending to be tired, he left the children and returned home.

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"Fullmetal. Fullmetal! Wake up, Fullmetal."

Brought back to the world of the living, Ed slowly raised his head from the table beneath him, neck and back aching from being bent over a table all night. Looking around, he saw it was none other than Lieutenant Hawkeye waking him up, no doubtedly to send him home after a long night's work. "Oh, Lieutenant, sorry about that," He yawned, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "Must've been researching later than I thought. I'll get out of your way as soon as I get this cleaned up."

Hawkeye sighed, a sympathetic look in her eyes. "You know, Fullmetal, you don't need to work all the time. It's okay to _act your age."_

It was lucky for Ed that he was facing away from her, for she was much more observant than Winry, and unlike Hughes or the other State Alchemists, she was close enough to see the look on his face at her words, had he been looking at her. As it was, she noticed the slight tensing of his back, the clenching of the knuckles of his flesh hand as he replaced the books on the shelf they belonged.

She didn't say anything more, but she decided to keep a closer eye on him.

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"Colonel Bastard just _loooves_ making things difficult, doesn't he, Al," muttered Ed as he stomped angrily down the hall. People leaped out of the way of his obvious foul temper, not that he noticed.

"Now, now, Brother," replied an innocent sounding voice of a small boy, at odds with the body it emerged from, a towering frightening looking suit of armor. "You know he is trying to help, no matter what he says." Hearing a snort from his smaller companion, but no outright denial, he continued on. "I know he can get on your nerves, Brother, but I also know you respect him. You wouldn't follow the slightest amount of his suggestions let alone orders if you didn't. But please, just for today, try to _act your age_?"

Sighing, trying to hide the tenseness placed on him with those words, the older brother nodded his head. He could never deny his sibling anything, except cats. "Yeah, okay. Let's just get this mission and get it over with. Sooner we get done with this, sooner we continue the search." And on they walked, the younger oblivious to the older's distress, and the older doing his best to hide it.

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Water leaked from every inch of the boy, from his squelching boots to his soaked clothes, and up to his plastered golden hair. His limbs aching from the combination of stress, weather, and general fatigue that seemed to follow him around lately, all the Fullmetal Alchemist wanted to do was go home and sleep…. forever.

But no, first he had to listen to his bastard superior list everything he did wrong on his latest mission. For the first time, he was too tired to fight back. Too tired,that is, until he heard those _goddamned words_ he could never seem to escape.

"Dammit, Fullmetal, it seems no matter how many times I try, you never seem to understand the effects your actions have on those around you! Why can't you just _act your age!"_

 _ **SLAM!**_

Before he could say any more, he and the whole office was silenced by the sound of metal on metal. The team, who had studiously been ignoring the one-sided argument going on, looked over to see Ed's fist on the desk in front of him, a good two inches dented into the surface. Stunned into silence, Mustang and the others could clearly make out the quiet words of the terror in front of them

"Act my age?" Ed whispered. "And how, pray tell, am I supposed to do that?" He was getting louder now, quickly heading toward hysterical shouting if he didn't get himself under control.

"Every time I try to relax, I shame or offend someone around me. Every time I do my job, I make other soldiers nervous. EVERY TIME I DO SOMETHING FOR ME, THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH IT!"

They were all staring wide-eyed now. None of them, not Feury or Falman or Breda, not Havoc or Hawkeye or Hughes, not even Mustang or Al had seen Ed like this. Sure, they'd all seen him pissed or annoyed to the point of yelling, but something about this seemed desperate, like he was almost to the breaking point.

"HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO ACT MY AGE WHEN I HAVE NEVER BEEN IN A SITUATION THAT SHOWED ME WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE?! I STOPPED BEING A CHILD WHEN I WAS ELEVEN YEARS OLD, MUSTANG. AND EVEN BEFORE THAT, I WAS NEVER _JUST_ A KID! YOU WANT ME TO BE AN ADULT? WELL, _I'M NOT_! I'M NOT AN ADULT AND I'M NOT A KID EITHER!"

Turning to Hughes, he continued his rant. "YOU WANT ME TO ACT LIKE A _NORMAL_ FIFTEEN YEAR OLD?! THEN TELL ME! WHAT DO _THEY DO?! HOW DO THEY ACT?!_ I HAVE _NEVER_ BEEN AROUND THEM BEFORE! AND WHEN I TRY TO AT LEAST ACT LIKE A KID, I GET SCOLDED FOR BRINGING DOWN THE STATE ALCHEMIST NAME!"

He turned back to Mustang, who seemed slightly shell-shocked at this point. "I KNOW I ENTERED THIS WORLD THROUGH MY OWN CHOICES! I KNOW IT WAS MY OWN MISTAKES THAT LED ME HERE! BUT GUESS WHAT?! THOSE DECISIONS- THOSE _MISTAKES?!_ THEY WERE THE CHOICES OF A _LITTLE KID_! A LITTLE KID WHO COULD ONLY TRY TO FILL THE ROLE OF PARENT, OF PROTECTOR, AND I ACCEPTED ALL THE RESPONSIBILITIES THAT CAME WITH IT! BUT HOW CAN I ACT THE PARTS OF BOTH KID AND ADULT?! EVERYONE WANTS ME TO ACT A CERTAIN WAY, AND ANYTHING ELSE IS UNACCEPTABLE! SO WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!"

His voice was getting quieter now, breaking on occasion. "Please. Just… just tell me what to do."

Before anyone could say anything, Ed abruptly turned around and strode out the door, leaving a shocked and somewhat guilty silence behind him.

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 **Okay, so I'm not entirely sure how this idea came to me, but I had to get it out there. Ed's rant didn't go how I planned, but whatever. If anyone wants to take the concept of this and make an entirely new (read better) version of this, please feel free but also message me about it because I will want to read it and see how I can improve my own writing. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you think everyone stayed in character**


	2. Be Who You Are, Fullmetal

**I have made a return to add a follow up!**

 **Since posting the first chapter, I have been wracking my brains for inspiration to add to this. And I realized that there are not very many fics with Kain Feury as a main character, which is a shame. I feel like he and the Elrics would be really close, as it strikes me how similar his personality is to Alphonse.**

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It had shocked Feury, at first, the way Edward had exploded like he had. It shouldn't have, he knew. The odd days were the ones where you _didn't_ hear Edward shouting at someone.

But something seemed different this time around. If Kain was right, there was some desperation in his voice. And, unless he was mistaken, he thought he heard Ed's voice struggling not to break, as if he was holding back tears.

...But that couldn't be it, right? Edward Elric, the great Fullmetal Alchemist, Hero of the People, wouldn't do something that would be seen so childish as _crying_ , right?

Feury's heart stopped. That was _exactly_ it, he realized. _Of course_ he might do something like cry, even if it was out of sight of the people who would judge him for it, people he _should_ _be_ able to count on. He may be in the military, he may even outrank Feury and half the team, but he _was_ a _child_. He was fifteen years old and so worn and cynical that they had a horrible, _horrible_ habit of forgetting that.

He was too young to play the mature and serious soldier constantly.

He was too old to enjoy schoolyard games without feeling self-conscious.

Edward Elric, it became clear to him, was at that age where he was still figuring himself out, and all the pressures and stress added to his life made it infinitely more difficult to do.

Feury looked around the room, and from the stunned looks on the faces of the people around him, he realized that he must have come to this conclusion within seconds of Edward storming out. Quickly, he slipped out of the room. If he was fast enough, he might be able to catch up to Ed before he had time to take his anger out on the general population in the form of glares and snark.

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It took almost an hour, but Feury finally found Ed, lounging on a park bench so off the well worn path that it didn't surprise Feury that Alphonse hadn't even found hime yet. Wandering up to him, Feury at first thought Ed was asleep, but an eye cracked open at his approach, and it pained him a little bit to see the gaze turn cautious, as if preparing for further lecturing.

Nonetheless, Edward shifted, making room for Feury on the bench, and he felt relief that Ed wasn't shutting him out from the start. He had a chance to start making things right. He refused to blow it.

So, taking a seat, Feury took a moment to gather his thoughts before starting. Taking a deep breath, he started.

"We… forget sometimes… that you are in such a different position than us." Feury said quietly. Seeing Ed tense, whether to leave or snap at him in some way, Feury didn't know, but he continued before Ed had the chance. "You are the _oldest_ teenager any of us have ever met, but you _are_ a teenager, and it's not fair to you that we keep changing our opinions of how you should act."

Ed slowly, cautiously, started to relax again, and Fuery felt some tension release from his shoulders.

"I have seen amazing feats occur when you go on missions. Feats that wouldn't be possible if you were anyone other than who you are. Yes, you are a soldier, in the adult world where you are given jobs that could mean your life if something goes wrong."

Fuery paused, before a wry, bitter smile found its way on his face, looking somewhat out of place on his normally amicable features. "But you are so young that it is only by your childlike imagination and daring that you are able to keep the very life you risk."

Edward was staring at him, eyes moist, but, in true stubborn fashion, pretending nothing was wrong, His breathing was slowing down, and Feury was glad to see that he seemed to be taking his words to heart.

"You don't need to act your age, Ed. All you need to do is act in a way that, at the end of the day, you are happy with yourself. Don't think about how others will think of you. You think anyone approves how anyone in the office acts all the time?" At this, Ed seemed to startle somewhat, and Feury laughed under his breath.

"Havoc is constantly being ridiculed for obsessing over girlfriends and for smoking in the office. People look at Breda and assume by his looks that he is a simpleton that has no business being the leader of strategy on our team, that he should be the muscle of our team and not expect to have his opinions listened to. Falman is thought to not be assertive enough to belong in the army, that he is only intellectual and would be a drag in the field. I am constantly looked down on for my timid nature, and other groups often think that I am only the repair boy and mascot of our team. Hawkeye, not that they would say it to her face, is often viewed with condescending pity for being such an excellent soldier when she's a woman, They think she should be at home with children. And Mustang, for all that you two don't get along, is actually the most similar to you. The generals see him, still in his mid-twenties and already a Colonel, and they get nervous. They think he is after them, so they do everything they can to make sure he is swamped in paperwork and not out earning his next promotion."

Feury paused here, then continued. "I guess what I'm saying is: Be who you are. Don't force yourself to live up to what other people think you should be, not unless you sincerely think that will make you happy. You may be a major player in the worlds of adults already, but you have certain freedoms that only the young can enjoy."

Looking over at Ed, Feury noticed he was leaning over, almost laying down on the bench again, and his eyes were closed. There seemed to be a slight smile on his face, and a weight lifted off his shoulders. Feury at first thought he had fallen asleep until he heard a very faint "Thank you," and his eyes softened, looking at the boy, not child, but not man, as he drifted off.

They sat a while, Ed enjoying a peaceful slumber and Feury relieved he was able to help, when Feury heard a noise and looked up, spotting the team walking up, Alphonse and Hughes behind them. The group surrounded the two on the bench, Havoc clapped him on the shoulder and Alphonse managed to convey through his armor a look of gratitude. The rest merely staying with them. None of them saying a thing, simply enjoying each other's presence and the companionable silence they provided.

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A few days later, Feury arrived to work to find a package on his desk and smiles on his teammates' faces. He noticed a note on the top and read it to see it was from Ed.

 _ **To say thanks for conveying what few people bothered, and seeing what no one else did. Thanks.**_

Opening the package, Feury saw two books. One was an expansive guide on not-well-known technique guide for communications devices and bugging, one that Feury himself had expressed regret that he couldn't find a copy of. The other was a how-to book for beginners on something called Judo, which seemed to be a martial art style for those of slighter size.

Feury smiled. He knew Edward had appreciated the talk they had the other day, but he hadn't realized that Ed would take the time to choose such particular things just for him.

Realizing that there was not any paperwork or anything else requiring his attention just yet, he cracked open the martial arts book. Maybe next the Elrics came by, Feury would be ready to have a practice spar with them.

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 **So I said at the beginning that I didn't think there was enough Kain Feury in the fanfic world, and I really wanted something with Ed bonding with a team member that was not Mustang, Hawkeye or Havoc. I adore them, especially Havoc, but whenever a team member is featured, it is almost always one of them and I wanted someone else to have a turn.**

 **I had Ed give Feury some books at the end because, let's face it, if he gives a present to anyone, it will be books. Also, I wanted to show that Ed was listening to everything Feury said, not just the parts that were specifically to make him feel better. He knows that Feury loves communications devices more than almost anything, kind of like him and alchemy, and he heard the bitterness in Feury's voice about how no one really saw him as a soldier, and got him a book on martial arts for those of a *ahem* shorter stature. I looked it up, and apparently Judo favors those of smaller builds because using the lower height, you can flip your opponents.**


End file.
